Amazing Beach and Staff

Overall we enjoyed this all inclusive resort. It was our first time booking the Sol Palmeras and will probably return. The beach was gorgeous. The staff were very friendly and for the most part, could speak very good English. Our bungalow room was always very clean and quiet. Would highly recommend booking a bungalow however you'll want to request to be placed in a building close to the hotel and beach which would be zones 1 and 2. If you love to walk, you'll be OK in zones 3, 4 and 5. We were i [... read more]n zone 2 in room 234 which we found to be a good distance from the noise at the hotel and close to our beach path. From our deck/room, we could see a little bit of the water over the top of the dunes. There weren't enough beach loungers or palapas (sun shade). Management seriously needs to supply more of both as people would invade saved palapas all the time which was intrusive and cause a few spats between guests. The majority of the palapas were closer to the hotel section. When you see pictures of the beach that have 3 to 4 palapas deep, those are near the hotel paths and are within the noisy area where the entertainment staff are playing games and playing loud music most of the day. If you want a quieter beach day, you'll have to walk towards the left hand side of the beach which would be nearer to the bungalow rooms. Due to the lack of loungers and shade, we had to set our alarm every morning for 6:00am....yes, we had to get up at STUPID O'CLOCK on our vacation!!! This was the only way to ensure that we had shade. We did a lot of walking which burned off most of our food and beverages...not a bad thing. The food at the El Morino was decent. I would recommend the grilled or Kentucky Fried Chicken which comes with fries and/or cabbage salad. If you're ordering a hamburger and don't want any raw meat in the center, order it well done. Our favorite server was Javier. He typically worked the right hand side of the outdoor restaurant and always wore a white dress shirt. Perhaps he was a supervisor? He was always pleasant and quick to serve us. Please tip your servers if you've received good service. There was a daily BBQ of chicken, ribs and sausage with sides near the El Morino. We ate from the BBQ our first day and that was it. We found the food to be dry and hard to chew. The buffet is repetitive just like it is at most all inclusives in Cuba or Mexico. The lobby has 3 bars. The small bar La Plaza which is just off of the main bar near the Italian restaurant has the BEST Mojitos and the BEST bartender we've ever had. Her name is Caridad and she's known as "Chico Mojito". The bartenders don't cheap out on the alcohol. Some reviews say that they water down their drinks however my husband and I can attest to the fact that they don't. The red wine isn't anything to write home about, however, we preferred the brand Palacio De Anglona which is from Spain. Guests can purchase their own wine, alcohol or cigars from a booth setup between the disco and the buffet on the main lobby level. The lobby can get very loud in the evenings which is typical with such a large open space. We were very disappointed that we were only given two cans of Cristal (beer) in our room fridge on our first day. This was our 9th time booking a Melia resort in Cuba and the first time we've been told that an all inclusive doesn't restock Cristal throughout your stay. For the price we paid (two weeks), we should have had two cans every day or at least another two cans when we started our 2nd week. We don't know if this was the resort's choice or did Melia cut back on these little perks. They also no longer provide body moisturizer which Melia has always provided in the past. There didn't seem to be any limit to the amount of a la cartes you could book however you had to book 2 days in advance. The a la carte reservation desk is between the main reception and the main bar along the same wall as the main bar. I think the a la carte desk was open from 7:30 to 3:30. Our favorite was the International which is the El Morino restaurant by day. The Oshin is the Chinese restaurant which is located in the bungalow area. We went twice. The food is tasty but very salty due to the amount of soy sauce that they cook the food in. The quality of the red wine served in the a la cartes is better than in the bars. There's a gift shop which seemed to have reasonable prices and a little food/alcohol store. They also have a few post card vendors. It was only .75 to mail ourselves a post card from Cuba to Canada. There's a train (motorized vehicle) that leaves for the Plaza America mall every hour on the hour. They pick you up on the hour every hour. If you don't want to wait the entire time, head towards the statue of the chef near the restaurant and take the stairs down. Head to the beach entrance and walk to the right. You'll need to walk through the Melia Varadero resort and then you'll be on the Sol Palmeras beach. The walk from the mall to the Sol was approx. 5 mins. There's a grocery store on the main level of the mall which has alcohol and general items. We were impressed that there were so many up to date clothing stores. Pack a light sweatshirt as we had a cold front for a few days and were grateful to have warmer clothes with us. When the wind is calm, there are plenty of pelicans as they follow the local fishermen. At one point, there were 25 pelicans on the shore and in the water. Made for really nice pictures. We can't comment on the pools as we always stayed at the beach.

Good place to stay

First time going to Cuba glad we picked this resort. The resort itself is large somewhat older but very clean & spacious but, that means a lot of walking to get from the 3rd floor rooms to the restaurants, lobby etc even with using the elevators. The resort could use several more washrooms in & around, again a lot of walking from the beach or when you are outside on the resort grounds which may pose a problem if you have difficulty getting around. The pools are kept clean, the beach is simply  [... read more]wonderful, there's always something going on entertainment wise. The many male managers you see strutting around in their shirts & ties looking important are very cold & unapproachable. The staff however make up for them, one of the best things about this place is the "staff" warm & friendly people always willing to go out of their way to help or assist you in any way, outstanding service. The food is the worst - absolutely awful. Would I go back to this place? yes.

Sol Palmeras..Lovely Resort

We spent a week at this resort and was very impressed with resort, grounds, activities and super friendly hotel staff. The beach was fantastic one of the best . Pleasantly surprised with food, wide variety catering for different taste. Lots of choice for drinks, beach activities and nightly entertainment.

Awesome week

The resort was wonderful and met all our expectations...a four star. The staff were 5 star!! The standard room was okay. .beds were a bit hard. The bungalows close to pool area looked nice. Food was excellent for Cuba with lots of variety and attention to food safety. Beach beautiful. Resort had shuttle to shopping plaza. 15 minutes by bus to Varadero. Only complaint was buffet dinner was very noisy...could do outdoor dining for breakfast and lunch. Would recommend.

Amazing Resort

Never dissapointed at Sol Palmeras, the layout is perfect east to het around. The gardens are beautiful constantly being cared for. The pools are cleaned and cared for all day long. The beach is stunning and the sand is silky for your walks. In my opinion the best ala Carter’s were the Italian and Chinese, I was disappointed that the seafood and steakhouse were not open. The rooms were spotless. The staff were friendly and very accommodating. This was my 3rd time to Sol Palmeras and I can’t  [... read more]wait to go back.

Great vacation

Nicolle Kirk was very helpful and would recommend her to handle travel arrangements. The hotel was very nice. The food was very good especially the roast BBQ pork and fresh cheeses and breads. The staff services were very good and very helpful. The Hola Sun rep Jose was great and helpful. Suggestion: get VIP package for return flight. Down side was cleanliness. The room was very clean, maid Lidia was terrific. Food servers did not always wash hands and do not wear gloves. Saw a bug  [... read more]in food. The hotel manager , Tomeu Alcina was not very good as he did not speak English and did not respond to cleanliness issues after showing him a picture of bugs in food. Also, did not respond about safety issue when it was witnessed that staff "man-handled' a woman. The grounds , pool and beach were fabulous, as this is what we came for. Overall very pleased and would recommend. .

Tres peu de soleil en 2018

Sur mes 4 visites a cuba ,Janvier le 23 ,Mars le 24,Mai le 26,décembre le 10 cette année a été pleine de dépressions météo, front froid et autre qui nous ont donné des température froide sans soleil et beaucoup de pluie pendant ces 4 semaines, j espere que mes vacances de 2019 seront plus ensoleillée.SOL PALMERAS est un bon hotel,nous étions au bangalow 232 assez pres du lobbey pour y marcher,pres de la plage ,tres confortable plus spacieux qu une simple chambre . Un grand salon avec [... read more] des fenetres devant et derriere ce qui donne beaucoup de lumiere, le réfrigérateur dans l entrée n a jamais été rempli sauf a l arrivée, 2 systemes d air conditionné indépendant un au salon l autre plus moderne dans la chambre.La plage est longue ,propre,beaucoup d ombre et de chaises.Le buffet tres généreux beaucoup de choix pour tout les gout s et dietes mais répétitifs.Tres bon service d Humberto et Marie Thérese attentif souriant toujours de bonne humeur.A la piscine vous trouverez les nouveaux annimateurs qui sont Francais et pas du tout prétentieux,ils sont toujours pret pour jouer ou avoir de vos nouvelles du jour.Filles et garcons ils sont de jeunes entrepreneurs et je leurs souhaite une bonne année 2019.

It was a great resort for the money!

From the outside, the resort looks old and not a 4 star. But once you go in, it looks much better. The rooms were pretty clean and look a little bit old, but this was not an issue for us. the food was really good for cuba. I have been to cuba around 9 times and only 2 hotels that had good food. which sol palmeras is one of them. The a al carte were all really good. So as far as food wise, nothing to worry the beaches in varadero is always beautiful, unless you get a storm and you cant s [... read more]wim... staff were all very friendly and helpful. however if you need to find the infirmary, its a bit complicated and a bit far. but other than that, the hotel is great and will be back there again!

Wonderful Resort

We had an amazing time at Sol Palmeras. The resort was clean. The staff was super friendly. The resort grounds had everything offer. A basketball court, volleyball, badminton, bocce ball, pool activities. Being right beside the ocean was even better. The walk to the beach was breath-taking. What made going to the beach even better was the BBQ/Bar area. We didn't have to walk back to the resort to eat. Everyday we had lunch on the beach. Chairs, tables, cutlery were all supplied! There was nightl [... read more]y entertainment which made the day complete after spending all day on the beach. A lot of people say the food in Cuba isn't the greatest but they're just not staying at the right places. This is my second MELIA resort I've stayed at and second time around it was even better. Keep in mind I ate from the BBQ and a la cartes everyday. But even breakfast at the buffet was great. Fresh fruit and omelettes made right in front of you everyday. What more can you ask for?

Fantastic bungalows

Staff was extremely friendly. Clean hotel. Wonderful beach. Had a bungalow and Nains always went out of her way to make sure we had everything we needed. Angel welcomed us at the International restaurant and was a fantastic server. Pepe made the best drinks. A special thank you to a great friend and lovely lady, Odarmis for all the special treatment. Can't wait to stay there again.

Sol Palmeras...my 3rd vacation here

This Resort and the people who work here are so friendly and caring to all the guests...being my third trip to Sol Palmeras,I have developed many friendships and they make feel like family now . I am definitely heading back next October. The restaurants are great and the service is fantastic. The buffet is incredible with so many choices. I was pleasantly surprised to see some changes in the decor...I liked it before but the changes create a wonderful seating area where you are able to enjoy [... read more] the beautiful interior from the massive staircase to the open concept upper floor and also enjoy the beautiful gardens and trees through the two story high windows .

Amazing Veradero

The lobby area and front have all been renovated and were clean and very modern looking. The physical buffet hall was clean and well serviced. There was very enjoyable vocalists in the lobby every evening after dinner and all were great. There was also a small kiosk for cigars and rum in the evening that was convenient tho the staff didn't speak English very well.

Good value

The rooms where clean and the grounds were well looked after. Not enough of a variety when it comes to the food. There was no food from 3.30pm-6.00pm. The alcoholic drinks are watered down. We were on a budget and for the money that wr spent,I felt we got good value. The entertainment at night wad excellent .

Amazing beach

My second time here. The beaches are beautiful. First time there room was great. It was renovated. When I arrived this time they did not have my information, and put me in a 1 star room not renovated. Very disappointing. Had to get room change twice. Very upsetting first 24 hours, but once settled the rest of the vacation went very well. Pools could be better with hand rails on all pools that extend to the pools edge for senior and mobility issued guests.

Great place!

This was my 4th time there, very friendly stuff, food gets better and better with each visit. A lot of different activities for every age group. Very safe for children many lifeguards on duty. Over all 5star experience!

Mixed review

hotel was well maintained and the rooms were descent. however, the food was much better at past varadero resorts. my husband got severe food poisoning and almost couldn't travel home. site doctor was amazing!

Great resort lost to do

The resort is kept very clean. The public bathrooms are emasculate. Lots of entertainment and activities all day long (lots of fun). Needs a separate coffee bar, just like there juice bar and ice cream bar. Check out was the worst I have ever experienced, only one room dedicated for everyone that had a late check out and a shortage of towels to that room which backed up everyone waiting. This area differently needs to be fixed as there are quite a large amount of people with late check  [... read more]outs. The other thing I didn't understand is why we had to return out beach towels by noon or pay a deposit to keep them longer, when we were not flying out till late in the evening and we could return the towels in by 5 pm and get our receipt back to give to the front desk as proof that we returned them.

A WORTH IT RESORT!

Where do I start? My wife and I had a bungalow..more than reasonably priced and can comfortably fit 4 persons. Very close to the beach but a bit of a walk (5 mins) to the lobby which is the only place you can get internet ($1c/hr).We are young so it's okay but you can request the 100s bungalow which would then be more convenient otherwise. The hotel staff were amazing.. everyone is super nice. Try to reserve a la carte restaurants in the hotel tho as they're all better than the buffet. G [... read more]rounds were clean. Beach is clean.. and don't be afraid to leave the resort and visit a few clubs nearby. La comparsita, for example or street bars like Calle 62.

Amazing resort to haver fun and relax.

I had the bungalow and it was great. King size bed with 2 TV's. Open concept shower was great!! Lots of choices for food and the staff is so friendly. Beach area was super clean and the water crystal clear.

Beautiful Resort!

The hotel is clean, the staff is friendly, the grounds are well maintained and very clean. The room are cleaned very well. The buffet has a wide variety of cold and hot food. The entertainment is great every night! This was our second time at Sol Palmeras and we will go back next year.